The present invention relates to an occupant restraining device for shielding a window of a vehicle, when the vehicle makes a rollover (or a lateral turning) or a side collision, to arrest an occupant in the inner side of the vehicle.
In the prior art, there is a device for shielding a window of a vehicle with an expanded airbag. As known in International Laid-Open No. WO98/19894, for example, the airbag is folded and housed in the upper edge portion of the peripheral edge of the window and is inflated at a predetermined time with an inflating gas from an inflator thereby to shield the window with the inflated airbag.
Moreover, the airbag at the time of completion of the expansion and inflation is so arranged by establishing a tension in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle that it may not be pushed and moved to the outer side of the vehicle by the occupant.
However, the following problems arise if this airbag is employed in an occupant restraining device which is activated when a rollover (or a lateral turning) of the vehicle is predicted.
While the vehicle is rolling over, more specifically, the upper half of the occupant's body cannot avoid large lateral movements as the vehicle turns. If the airbag is expanded and inflated with the occupant 's head being extremely close to the window, the airbag may not be interposed between the occupant Is head and the window but may be disposed on the inner side of the occupant's head. If the airbag is then tensed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle according to the completion of the inflation of the airbag, the airbag cannot be rearranged between the occupant's head and the window but pushes the head to the window.